Google Search

Top court will decide Insite's fate

If anything good comes out of the legal marathon that is the federal government’s fight to close Vancouver’s supervised drug injection site, it’s that Canada’s top court will likely rule once and for all that harm reduction and the protection of our most marginalized citizens should trump Conservative ideological intransigence.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court of Canada agreed to hear an appeal of a B.C. Supreme Court ruling that allowed Insite to continue operating.

The federal government has long argued that the clinic, which in 2009 averaged 702 visits a day, is nothing more than a taxpayer-funded drug den. The province maintains the feds have no jurisdiction over how it spends its health-care dollars. Advocates say Insite saves lives, helps prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS, and saves the health-care system money in the long run by preventing accidental overdoses and exposing addicts to potentially life-saving treatment programs. More >>